


The taste of freedom

by Parachutes



Series: Finding freedom [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst and Fluff, M/M, emo kid gladion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 16:10:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9449609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parachutes/pseuds/Parachutes
Summary: "Here Gladion found himself – carelessly tasting a malasada in the shop he had been walking past for as long as he could remember. Finally, he had allowed himself to take the time, and the freedom, to do so. And it all suddenly felt like such an achievement, that when he looked at Silvally, eating happily without worry,  he could feel some small tears stinging in the corners of his eyes."In which Hau invites Gladion to eat malasada's together and Gladion doesn't understand why he decides to tag along.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> This one shot is linked to another one I wrote recently. Both are based on artworks by my friends~ http://kell0x.tumblr.com/post/155256182129/hau-x-gladion-sketch-by-me-coloring-and-lineart-by This is the one connected to this one shot, please take a look. ^w^   
> If you're interested, you can find the other fic I'm talking about as part of the same series. :) However, it is perfectly possible to read both of them seperately. They're just connected.   
> Also, English is not my first language, bear with me please. >w<   
> I hope you'll enjoy!!

The sound of Wingull circling in the bright blue sky hovering over Alola filled Gladion’s ears as he watched over the beachfront, waiting. It was not as crowded as one would expect on such a fine day, maybe because Alola had beaches far more beautiful than the one in Hau’oil City. Gladion appreciated the absence of crowds, however. The presence of many people always seemed to make him a little uneasy. Now, as he watched the gentle waves caress the beach, he could clearly smell the ocean; it smelled like freedom. Around two years ago, when he ran away with Null and escaped with a small boat, he thought he had known freedom, but now that everything was over at last, he could not only smell but feel it as well. He was finally able to do what he wanted, become stronger with his team by his side, without being held back by darkness. The only annoying thing that was still in his life was, in fact, running towards him right now. Gladion pretended he didn’t notice, but he could already hear Hau approaching him from far away. The other boy was just so damn loud, and aside from that he carried a certain atmosphere with him that just made you notice him immediately, Gladion wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

‘Heeey!’ he heard Hau shout as he came closer. Sighing, Gladion turned around to meet the brightly smiling face of his acquaintance. He still didn’t understand why the boy wanted to meet up with him, even less did he understand why he actually agreed to it. Didn’t he have better things to do than hanging around Hau’oil City? He was supposed to get stronger right?

‘You’re not even going to greet me back?’ Hau asked and Gladion blinked, he hadn’t noticed the boy was actually in front of him now, smiling as their eyes met.

‘Uh, hi,’ he answered. It made Hau smile even wider, and Gladion had to look away for some reason, feeling embarrassed.

‘It took me a while to find you,’ Hau said. ‘Let’s go!’

‘Go to what?’

Hau turned around, almost having run off immediately. ‘To eat malasada’s of course,’ he said matter-of-factly. His eyebrows frowned into a slightly confused expression.

‘Why?’

‘Why, what do you mean why? Do you need a reason to eat malasada’s?’

Gladion was not entirely sure what to say. Why would he do anything without a reason? When there was so much to do, opponents to battle, experience to gain – if he ever wanted to become strong, he ought to never stop fighting. And here this idiot boy was. Gladion didn’t even want to come and didn’t know why he decided to show up in the first place, but here he was, wasting his precious time on him and he wanted to eat ridiculous sweets? He could feel his blood starting to boil and his hands turning into fists. Swiftly he turned to look at the happy-go-lucky boy, opening his mouth to start yelling at him, but surprisingly he was cut off before he could even start.

‘Have you ever had one?’ Hau asked, his expression dead serious, maybe a little irritated even.

‘What,’ Gladion could only say. It left his lips like a shout, a little too angry because he got fired up.

‘A malasada. Have you ever had one?’

Gladion blinked. ‘No,’ he said truthfully, because why would he? He hadn’t had time for something ridiculous like that when he was training with Null and running errands for Team Skull.

‘Well, there is your reason, then,’ Hau said. He started walking away, leaving Gladion at a loss for words.

That boy – he was so, so, so – Gladion didn’t know but he honestly got on his nerves. Yet, his feet started following him. At first, all kind of thoughts flashed through his mind, that he could just leave and why wasn’t he, but at some point he gave in with a sigh. His team needed some rest anyway, he couldn’t train them until they collapsed from fatigue. He didn’t feel the need to increase his pace however, so he just followed Hau from a distance until he stopped in front of the place that was probably the malasada café. The other boy didn’t even stop one time to look back and see if Gladion followed him, until he arrived and whether it was because of a lack of interest or overconfidence,  Gladion didn’t know – it pissed him off either way.  When Hau caught his gaze smiling, he quickly broke their eye contact with a sigh.

‘See, I got you interested,’ the boy said. ‘Come on!’

‘Shut up,’ Gladion mumbled as he followed Hau inside.

Stepping inside overwhelmed him – it was as if they stepped into a completely different world. A sweet scent greeted them, together with the women behind the counter where different malasada’s were displayed. Inside, there were several people enjoying their snack, but not too many. The atmosphere was pleasant – lively but not crowded. The interior was simple but appealing, and Gladion hated to admit it, but he felt really comfortable.

‘So, how many do you want?’ Hau asked as he leaned over with that stupid grin on his face.

‘How m-’

‘Yes! To share with your Pokémon of course! They love them! Especially my Raichu, sometimes he almost eats mine as well.’

Gladion let his eyes travel through the café, and saw that indeed some customers were eating their food together with their partners, and he absently wondered if Silvally would like that as well. He used to be extremely shy and distant, but since he evolved he seemed to have gotten more used to people. Well, he could always try and offer him something.

‘I guess I’ll have two,’ he said.

‘Why do you always do that,’ Hau suddenly said and when Gladion turned to face him, the other’s face was so close that he had to shy away.

‘Do what?’ Somehow he started feeling conscious about himself and he let his eyes wander anywhere to escape Hau’s gaze.

‘We’ll have four, please,’ Hau ordered before facing him again. ‘You know, that thing with covering half of your face with your hand. It looks like your judging the whole world around you, but I’m sure it must have a different reason.’

Why was that boy so so –

‘Hah, you’re doing it again.’

‘Can you just leave me alone?’ Gladion hissed, now staring in Hau’s eyes directly as he could feel his blood starting to boil again.

The other boy raised his hands as if defending himself. ‘Don’t get so angry! It’s okay, I’ll figure it out by myself, sooner or later.’ Hau smiled at him before taking the malasada’s from the employee and handing two to Gladion. He walked away with his own, finding a seat for the both of them. Gladion was left there for a bit, feeling flustered but he wasn’t sure why. He tried finding a reason but his mind wouldn’t cooperate with him, all kinds of thoughts flashing through his head, so he gave up and followed the boy with a sigh. Hau picked a seat near the windows, where you could see the beach in case the streets were not too crowded. It made Gladion wonder for a bit if Hau had the same tendency to always pick a window seat, or if it was just a coincidence. He had always easily felt imprisoned within buildings, which was why he needed the reassurance of the outside view. Whatever his reason, Gladion had to feel thankful to the boy.

                When he reached his seat, Hau was busy taking a pokéball – probably Raichu’s – from his bag and released his Pokémon. Raichu came out and let out some excited meeps as he noticed their surroundings.

‘Hey there, boy!’ Hau started softly stroking his partner’s fur before handing him one of the malasada’s he ordered. Happily, Raichu took it and started eating.

Gladion found himself staring at the sweet interaction between trainer and Pokémon, and at some point noticed the corners of his lips started curling up in a small smile. He had to admit Hau’s bond with his Pokémon had fascinated him from the first time they met – he treated them as more than partners,  equals even, friends. It was clear his Pokémon loved him very dearly, and he loved them back as much. With Null having such a horrible past, Gladion just found it extremely important for Pokémons to be treated in a good way. And Hau’s way was simply beautiful, and  truly a role model for all Pokémon trainers.

‘Hey, hey, your malasada’s are getting cold.’ Gladion almost got a mini heart attack when Hau spoke to him like that, having been lost in thought so deeply. Quickly, he searched for Silvally’s Pokéball through his bag.

‘You should smile more often, by the way.’ The words were so surprising that Gladion got close to letting the pokéball slip through his fingers – he caught it just in time and then tried looking at Hau.

‘What?’ he said sheepishly.

Hau just grinned at him, a faint shadow of a blush on his cheeks, and took a bite of his malasada, leaving him in the dark as to whether he had heard those words right.

Gladion chose to ignore it and let Silvally out. When he appeared, he looked a little uneasy, carefully observing his surroundings, but not uncomfortable. Gladion petted him softly and then held out the malasada to him. Silvally sniffed at it and then looked at him in a questioning way.

‘It’s okay, try it,’ Gladion said and put the malasada in front of his partner before taking his own snack and unwrapping it.

He watched Silvally staring at the snack carefully, poking it with one of his paws and then, finally taking a small bite. Then, as he ate some more, his partner’s posture relaxed more and more, until at some point Silvally looked up to meet his gaze and gave him a reassuring nod, as if telling him to try it as well. Only then, Gladion noticed he had yet to start eating himself. It was amazing how relaxed his partner Pokémon seemed, considering how alert and distanced he had always been. He really was enjoying himself. Before he started eating, he quickly shot a glance at Hau, who was happily enjoying his own snack, almost halfway already. He wasn’t paying attention to Gladion, so the teen took a bite – at that point noticing Hau actually wás watching him carefully from the corner of his eyes. He was just starting to feel annoyed by that, when he noticed the malasada actually tasted extremely good. It was a lot better than he expected. So he took another bite. And another one.

It was sweet, but not in a way that would make your teeth shiver. It was crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. And then filled with jam, which kept the taste from getting monotonous. Here Gladion found himself – carelessly tasting a malasada in the shop he had been walking past for as long as he could remember. Finally, he had allowed himself to take the time, and the freedom, to do so. And it all suddenly felt like such an achievement, that when he looked at Silvally, eating happily without worry,  he could feel some small tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. He remembered the four walls of his room back in Aether Paradise, the heartbreaking cries of the Type: Null he had discovered when wandering through the labs, the cold, cold smile of the woman that was once his mother… He remembered planning an escape, the fear when he took Null’s pokéball and set sail with a small boat, towards nowhere… He remembered wandering around the country, trying to bond with Null who inflicted new wounds on him every single day… He remembered hunger and exhaustion… He remembered remembering every night, having nightmares any time he closed his eyes. He remembered coldness, fear…

Until something softly touched his shoulder and the ghosts of his past floated away as if daybreak was upon them.  He looked up, meeting Hau’s eyes. Oh, right… He was in the middle of a malasada shop, with a kid he found strange and annoying.

The boy let go of his shoulder. ‘Are you alright? Was it that good? You’re making it all wet.’ It was clear Hau was trying to make a joke, but he wasn’t smiling and looked more serious than ever. Was he worried? Gladion took a look at the malasada, blinking, and put it on the table for a moment so he could wipe the very uncool tears away. He could feel his cheeks burning as he rubbed them.

‘Forget this,’ he said. He was extremely aware of Hau’s gaze upon him as he stuffed what remained of the malasada in his mouth and started chewing, looking anywhere but at the teen accompanying him.

‘I don’t think I can forget that, but sure, I won’t ask about it. How about you tell me later, when you feel like you can?’

Gladion swallowed and then, carefully, allowed himself to look at the other boy. A small smile was shadowing around his lips and if right there, right at that moment, Gladion was honest with himself, he wanted to trust Hau, open up to him, try to become his friend, even, maybe… So he nodded, unable to find his voice and then Hau flashed him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his whole life. Silvally nudged his leg, and stared at him questioningly as their eyes met.

‘Sorry, I’m okay,’ Gladion said under his breath. Before returning Silvally to his pokéball he stroke his fur softly.

‘You two must really love each other,’ Hau noted,  referring to Silvally, when Gladion had calmed down and they had decided to leave.

Gladion snorted before realizing, looking at the various rips in his clothes that his partner had created. ‘Well, believe me, we’ve gone through a lot to accomplish that.’

‘Really? Tell me about it next time we meet up?’

Gladion had to stop and look at him in order to process the question right, and once again Hau was just smiling at him, his hands folded behind his head, so carefree, and it suited him so naturally. Maybe, Hau was a little bit like the sun.

‘Oh wait,’ Hau then said, even before Gladion could even try to answer him. He fiddled a bit in his bag and took his phone out. ‘I really have to take a selfie with you, okay? Otherwise Sun will never believe I actually managed to meet up with you!’

Well, that was something Gladion didn’t particularly felt like – he hated taking pictures about as much as cleaning. He probably made a disgusted face as well, since Hau started begging him.

‘Ahw, come on, please? Just a quick one!’

He sighed. ‘Fine.’ Gladion shuffled a little closer to the other boy so he could take his picture.

‘What?’ he asked as he noticed Hau was just grinning again.

‘You did the thing again.’ Obviously, he referred to the covering half of his face with his hand thing, and Gladion felt the blood rising to his cheeks again, uncomfortable with the fact that Hau was watching him so carefully. Then, an arm was put around his back casually and the picture was taken before he could even look at the camera properly.

‘Alright!’ Hau said as he let go of him. ‘I’ve gotta run now, gotta do some errands for my granddad! See you around, Gladion, thanks for today!’ He smiled at him one last time, and then he was gone like a flash of light, leaving Gladion there with a gust of confused feelings racing through his body. Thinking about a million things at once, he faced the ocean and closed his eyes. He had learned what freedom tasted like today, from a certain boy that somehow reminded him of the sun.


End file.
